Some of these are great movies, but saying they have Catholic themes is a stretch. Some of them are just lousy movies, with or without a Catholic connection. I'm a simple gal with simple tastes ... and will happily watch Going My Way and Bells of St. Mary's any time of the year.
Thanks for reading and sharing our work, Terry! I'm so glad it's stimulating great discussion about Catholicism and film.
I will note that the films were not meant to be ranked, and indeed if it were ranked it would be grossly out of order. Our authors wrote about the films as the spirit moved them, as it were.
The great conversation goes on. We're honored we can take part in it with y'all!
Still going through the list but it's a little jarring to see Andre Rublev next to The Sound of Music, or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, followed by Close Encounters and then The Mission. Close Encounters? Really? A counter-gospel of a heavenly visitation, angels of light, if you will, that call a man to leave his home and family for a cosmic kingdom in the stars, a paternal renunciation that Spielberg later renounced. Some of these titles would fit fine in a mainline journal like The Christian Century for its happy extolling of humanistic values and the Brotherhood of Man. But I have already noted The Jeweller's Box as a possible addition to a viewing list.
Thank you for this stimulating discussion. Even aloft, you still got it. One movie I have said is one of the most moral movies I’ve ever seen is the original Dangerous Liaisons. I know it had nudity and some other elements that make it not for children. But its portrayal of evil manipulations of human beings brings the viewer to the inescapable conclusion so masterfully depicted in the last scenes as the Glen Close character is publicly unmasked. Devastating and unforgettable.
Some of these are great movies, but saying they have Catholic themes is a stretch. Some of them are just lousy movies, with or without a Catholic connection. I'm a simple gal with simple tastes ... and will happily watch Going My Way and Bells of St. Mary's any time of the year.
Thanks for reading and sharing our work, Terry! I'm so glad it's stimulating great discussion about Catholicism and film.
I will note that the films were not meant to be ranked, and indeed if it were ranked it would be grossly out of order. Our authors wrote about the films as the spirit moved them, as it were.
The great conversation goes on. We're honored we can take part in it with y'all!
I am relieved about the RANKING issue. Whew!
Please keep me posted on any follow-up reactions on your part, especially on that issue.
Still going through the list but it's a little jarring to see Andre Rublev next to The Sound of Music, or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, followed by Close Encounters and then The Mission. Close Encounters? Really? A counter-gospel of a heavenly visitation, angels of light, if you will, that call a man to leave his home and family for a cosmic kingdom in the stars, a paternal renunciation that Spielberg later renounced. Some of these titles would fit fine in a mainline journal like The Christian Century for its happy extolling of humanistic values and the Brotherhood of Man. But I have already noted The Jeweller's Box as a possible addition to a viewing list.
Thank you for this stimulating discussion. Even aloft, you still got it. One movie I have said is one of the most moral movies I’ve ever seen is the original Dangerous Liaisons. I know it had nudity and some other elements that make it not for children. But its portrayal of evil manipulations of human beings brings the viewer to the inescapable conclusion so masterfully depicted in the last scenes as the Glen Close character is publicly unmasked. Devastating and unforgettable.